Gardens 2 Go

For your convenience, Nith River Native Plants has assembled collections of
plants that combine well to serve specific purposes, such as attracting
birds, or making the best use of certain soils and growing conditions.
Unless otherwise indicated each garden collection contains 36 plants which
will cover approximately 6 square meters (depending on the size of the
plants). The price of each garden is $125 plus taxes. Many of the gardens
contain rare species, which makes them unsuitable for naturalization and
restoration projects. If this is your goal, please request substitutions.

Clay soils typically are wet in the spring and become dry and hard in
the summer, a condition which stresses some plants. Our CLAY SOIL GARDEN
plants are well-adapted to clay and thrive in these conditions.

Xeriscaping is defined as "water conservation through creative
landscaping". With a DROUGHT RESISTANT PLANT GARDEN, create a yard that is
pleasing in design and usefulness, yet low maintenance and not another
threat to the environment. This garden features plants that tend to wilt
more slowly under drought conditions. The plants also will attract
butterflies and small birds to the garden. All of the plants are low
growing, so they will perform well along boulevards, and as a replacement
for front lawns.

A good way to enjoy the company of birds is by planting a garden to
attract them. Besides feeding them, a natural food source garden is an
excellent way to bring birds to your nearby feeder. Songbirds require
insects in the summer and seeds in the fall. Hummingbirds feed only on
nectar. Since hummingbirds, have virtually no sense of smell, the flowers
that attract them tend to have little or no fragrance, apparently directing
their resources instead toward high visibility and nectar production.

Butterflies are looking for two things when they enter a garden: nectar,
the food that adult butterflies need, and host plants, the place where the
female will lay her eggs and provide caterpillars food. Both are necessary
to create a successful butterfly garden. Most species of caterpillars are
particular about the type of plants they can eat. Their eggs must be placed
on the correct plant in order for the caterpillar to survive.

A beneficial insect is any insect that improves the soil, pollinates
plants, or controls harmful pests. Many beneficial insects, including honey
bees, are in decline, in part due to synthetic chemicals and habitat loss.
This BENEFICIAL INSECT GARDEN will attract them to your property and sustain
them with nectar and pollen. The presence of beneficial insects allows
gardeners to reduce or eliminate insecticides, while increasing pollination
that in turn enhances fruit and seed yields. Producing more, while reducing
reliance on chemicals provides a real bonus to fruit and vegetable
gardeners. It also benefits wildlife gardeners by attracting birds and other
wildlife.

Open meadows provide a home for many colourful wildflowers. They are the
natural homes for butterflies, bees and grasshoppers. No wonder meadows have
been the traditional places for picnics and summer walks. In recent years a
lot of our wildflower meadows have disappeared.

One of the most diverse ecosystems in Ontario, the tallgrass prairie is
also one of its most endangered. Less than 1% of the original extent of the
tallgrass prairie ecosystem is preserved today in its natural form. There is
a lot of interest in native tallgrass plants for landscaping. This is
reflected by popularity of Purple
Coneflower, Liatris and Switch Grass, all
tallgrass prairie plants, at garden centers.
The dry prairies in and around Cambridge, Brantford and London inspired the
dry prairie garden. The moist prairie garden was inspired by the prairie
habitats that grow on the deep, rich soils along the Grand River and
southwestern Ontario. Planting a prairie garden is best done where it
naturally occurred or near where it naturally occurred. Otherwise a meadow
garden is more appropriate and will perform better. Please consult with
Nith River Native Plants about which is best for your area.

Instantly create a black walnut tolerant plant garden! While some plants
are susceptible to juglone (the chemical secreted by the leaves and roots of
a Black Walnut) others are not and can even thrive in the area of black
walnuts. Juglone can cause stunting, death, or wilting in many plants when
they are planted nearby. The average limit of the toxic zone from a mature
tree is 15-20 meters, so there is a wide range of sunlight levels to
consider, not just right under the tree. To help you beautify your property
with juglone resistant plants Nith River Native Plants has created three
groups of walnut resistant plants based on the amount of available sunlight.

Help the environment by reducing flooding and the load on local
wastewater treatment plants. If you live in an urban area, you can pool
rainwater into a rain garden instead of allowing it to run off into a storm
sewer. By digging down and piling the earth around the edge you can pool
water and form a rain garden. A rain garden allows more rainwater to soak
into the soil than does a lawn; rain garden plants clean impurities from the
water while attracting birds and butterflies in the process. Rain gardens do
not attract mosquitoes because the water does not pool long enough for
mosquitoes to breed.

In woodland the trees are spaced so that there are areas with sunny
openings supporting drought tolerant and shade intolerant plants. In a
forest, once leaves are on the trees there is almost constant shade and
therefore a lot moister too. Please consult with Nith River Native Plants if
you have questions about which, woodland or forest garden is most suitable
for your area.